The welfare state - what is it?

Mankind is striving for improvement. For the first time such a concept as a social state ( welfare state) was considered by Lorentz von Stein in the middle of the 19th century. Then it was believed that the idea of such a country is to restore equality and freedom. In addition, it was necessary to raise the lower and disadvantaged classes of society to the level of rich and strong. This can be realized through the state, which will see to it that the social and economic progress of all its citizens is carried out.

Principles of construction

The theory of the welfare state provides for such features of implementation as active participation of people aimed at solving social problems, a mixed economy and the like that can be seen in most countries of the world that are economically developed. Therefore, now the most diverse versions of its implementation are presented, and practical features are considered and systematized. You can get acquainted with them in social theory. In addition, in theory there are a number of assumptions about how to improve the current state of affairs.

When creating state types, social policy is built around certain principles that are internally connected. Such are the stratification of social groups, the nature of state intervention and the limit of the transition of market distribution to bureaucratic ones.

Coming to bloom

The concepts of the welfare state and the policy of universal prosperity have become widespread after the Second World War. A distinctive feature of this time is the presence of a powerful labor movement, which voted for parties of the left bias, so often won by the Social Democrats. At the same time, there was an opportunity to pursue a policy in which conditions were created for the gradual growth of the economy and increasing its efficiency, and the distribution of the results of prosperity should be fairly distributed, and therefore the welfare states became as we see them now. After all, beneficially influenced the population of countries and a number of internal factors, the stabilization of which led to the desired result.

Theory

The Keynesian doctrine of economic policy considers the welfare state as an integral stabilizer of the country. Thanks to the multifunctional character, the possibility of simultaneously meeting many conflicting aspects and strategies, such organization of affairs is attractive for a wide range of diverse forces.

Interest in this case is the concept of the welfare state voiced by K. Offe. What is it? He believed that the essence of the welfare state was formed as a combination of the consequences of a wide range of factors, the structure of which varies in different countries. Such were social-demographic reformism, Christian socialism, large branch trade unions, as well as the existence of enlightened political and economic elites. All this affected the fact that comprehensive compulsory insurance schemes were recognized and implemented, a minimum wage rate was established, labor protection laws were enacted, and the education and healthcare system was developed. In addition, people can count on the state in the issue of obtaining housing (it means only the availability of assistance, and not a free apartment). Also, trade unions were recognized as legitimate political and economic representatives of workers.

The beginning of crisis phenomena

Representatives of the welfare state theory argued that in the end, many difficulties can be solved and in the future such a model will avoid problems inside the country. But it was not so easy. In the late 1970s, significant social guarantees, high unemployment and the aging of the population began to put pressure on the state budget. But that was only the beginning. P. Rosanvallon (French researcher) claimed that this model survived three crises only during the twentieth century:

1. Economic.
2. Ideological.
3. Philosophical.

Let's consider them in more detail.

Crises

In the late 70's it seemed that soon there would be utopia in public life. People will be protected from basic life risks and needs. But since the beginning of the 1990s a significant (relatively) increase in unemployment began and new forms of poverty have appeared. They showed that the suggestions made earlier were illusory. Thus, the welfare state survived the first economic crisis. The ideological accounted for the 80's. Then the effectiveness of the methods of state intervention in the economic sector of public life (when done in order to solve social problems) was questioned . The bureaucratization of the state apparatus was criticized, as was the closed nature of the decisions taken. As a result, there was a confusion of priorities. This, in turn, caused a crisis of legitimacy. This all remained unresolved. In the late nineties a philosophical crisis arose. In addition to all of the above, questions were raised about the concept of social rights and the principles of social solidarity. But they were the conceptual and value bases of the model used.

Retreat

Let's step back a little from the main topic of the article and pay attention to such a historical phenomenon as the heavenly state of universal prosperity. The concept considered earlier was created in the late 1920s. Whereas "heavenly" originates in the 19th century.

During the "opium" wars, some Chinese wanted to live on the principle of equalization and not be influenced by the aggressors (the main one being the British Empire). At first they acted quite successfully. But, alas, the movement was broken up, and whatever it turned into ultimately, we can only judge.

Directivity

The main concept in this concept is the overcoming of social conflicts, when with the help of the state, tolerable living conditions are created for absolutely all segments of society. For this, social assistance programs are used for low-income and poor people, measures are being taken to reduce unemployment and so on. That is, problems are solved that the market itself can not disassemble. To some extent, the program that worked in the USSR was adopted.

Thanks to this, the term "social state" emerged and is actively used. In this sense, any country falls under a certain sense, because there are people everywhere, but here we understand a slightly different direction. So, the social state is called the state, which takes care of providing all residents with a certain amount of social benefits: the right to education, a living wage, medical care and so on.

Such a country, with the help of taxation, wants to create a certain balance between the poor and the rich. She tries to guarantee the minimum necessary level for a civilized existence. The main stumbling block for supporters of this concept are economic problems. But it is believed that eventually it will be decided. People in the future will not have to strain at work, as they will be fully provided. The love of money will be treated as it should - a painful condition.

Practical introduction

The first steps towards the welfare state, which lasted a long time (and not as with the Chinese, a few years), were made in the 80s of the 19th century in Germany. The government of Otto von Bismarck acted as the initiator of such changes. It implemented a system of social guarantees, which included unemployment benefits, health and accident insurance , and old-age pensions. But this was introduced not so much because of concern for ordinary citizens, but for the weakening of the growing socialist party of Germany. This example was contagious, and many other governments began to use the experience.

Especially indicative in this case is the case of Sweden. The country has virtually eradicated poverty, despite the fact that it is one of the highest taxes. The actions carried out have received the name of "socially-oriented policy". The presence of the USSR had a considerable influence on the increase in the scale and pace of the implementation of these programs. For the possibility of competition, free secondary and higher education, health care and so on were provided.

Conclusion

The welfare state is a kind of equivalent to socialist ideology on the part of the liberal capitalist camp. Despite a number of successes, because of the existing problems, many political scientists do not take it seriously. As a reference point is often called that such a worldview entails the danger of becoming a consumption society, which has a number of negative consequences.